Leroy Hood To Speak At Institute For Advanced Study

Leroy Hood, director of the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, will speak on "Decoding Life: Genomics, Proteomics, and Systems Biology" on November 14 at 4:30 p.m. in Wolfensohn Hall on the campus of the Institute for Advanced Study.

The event is sponsored by the Institute's Program in Theoretical Biology. A reception in the Common Room of Fuld Hall will follow the lecture.

A leading scientist in molecular biotechnology and genomics, Hood will discuss how the Human Genome Project has led to a new systems approach for biology.

Hood earned his M.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1964 and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1968. On the faculty at CalTech, he and colleagues pioneered four instruments that constitute the technological foundation for contemporary molecular biology. One of the instruments has revolutionized genomics by allowing the rapid automated sequencing of DNA.

In 1992 Hood joined the faculty of the University of Washington to create the cross-disciplinary Department of Molecular Biotechnology. He applied his laboratory's expertise in DNA mapping to the analysis of human and mouse immune receptors, and initiated studies in prostate cancer, autoimmunity, and hematopoietic stem cell development.

In 1999, he founded the Institute for Systems Biology, to pioneer systems approaches to biology and medicine.

His research has focused on the study of molecular immunology and biotechnology. His interests also include autoimmune diseases, cancer biology, and mammalian development. Author of more than 500 research papers, and co-author of textbooks in biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology, and genetics, Hood also co-edited Code of Codes, (1995) a book discussing scientific, social, and ethical issues raised by genetic research.

Hood, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, holds honorary degrees from institutions that include Wesleyan University, Bates College, and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. He received the Lasker Award in 1987 for studies on the mechanism of immune diversity.

For more information, call the Institute for Advanced Study's Program in Theoretical Biology at 609-734-8118, or see www.ptb.ias.edu.